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How to fit 1TB of data on one CD-sized disc
Tech.co.uk ^ | 8/24/07 | James Rivington

Posted on 08/27/2007 1:24:34 PM PDT by LibWhacker

1000GB = 20 times the size of a dual-layer Blu-ray disc

Blu-ray and HD DVD have pushed the limits of optical storage further than anyone thought possible. But a new technology has emerged which makes Blu-ray's 50GB capacity look tiny. Mempile in Israel says it's able to fit an incredible 1TB of data onto one "TeraDisc" which is the same size as CDs and DVDs. That's 20 times the capacity of a maxed-out dual-layer Blu-ray disc.

The incredible capacity achieved using this new technology is made possible by employing 200 5GB layers, each one only five microns apart. The discs are completely transparent to the red lasers which are used in the associated recorder.

Prototypes have already been made to store up to 800GB of data, and Mempile says it will crack the 1TB barrier before moving on to build 5TB blue laser disks.

Dr Beth Erez, Mempile's Chief Marketing Officer says that the first 1TB disks have a lifespan of 50 years and could be on the shelves in two to three years.

Highest capacity discs ever

"The TeraDisc is made of a material which is highly responsive to two-photon writing and reading. This allows us to write anywhere in that we can focus a red laser onto the disc, e.g. multiple layers," Dr. Erez told TFOT.info.

"However, many other properties of the material have to be optimised to allow this to work properly. Especially the written points, and written layers have to remain transparent after writing, without which it would be very difficult for the reading process to see the 200th layer through 199 written, non-transparent layers.

"When a red laser is focused to a small spot inside the TeraDisc, we can choose if we probe the state of this material (reading , low power) or alter it (writing at higher power). This is very similar to the way a regular CDR works, except for the fact that this is now done in 3D," she said.

It's hard to imagine that a disc format not invented by one of the world's big technology firms could become a future industry standard. But it's perfectly conceivable that these discs might one day be used in libraries to archive digital copies of books and so forth.

On a 1TB disc, you could store:



TOPICS: Miscellaneous; Technical
KEYWORDS: bluray; dvd; hddvd; hitec; memory; technology; terabyte; teradisc
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1 posted on 08/27/2007 1:24:40 PM PDT by LibWhacker
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To: Las Vegas Dave

*Ping*


2 posted on 08/27/2007 1:26:18 PM PDT by LibWhacker
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To: LibWhacker

Price per disk? Price of a recorder?


3 posted on 08/27/2007 1:27:44 PM PDT by TommyDale (Never forget the Republicans who voted for illegal immigrant amnesty in 2007!)
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To: LibWhacker

Just damn.


4 posted on 08/27/2007 1:28:53 PM PDT by fieldmarshaldj (~~~Jihad Fever -- Catch It !~~~ (Backup tag: "Live Fred or Die"))
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To: TommyDale

- $3,500 for the recorder
- $35 for the media


5 posted on 08/27/2007 1:29:04 PM PDT by Freeport
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To: LibWhacker

Wow, mind-boggling.
There’s a lot of interesting high tech work going on in Israel.


6 posted on 08/27/2007 1:32:09 PM PDT by Califelephant
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To: Freeport

Not consumer pricing yet but I can imagine dozens of companies and mlitaries who could make use of that kind of technology, only Israel could create something that insanely awesome.


7 posted on 08/27/2007 1:32:18 PM PDT by utherdoul
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To: Freeport

Call me when the prices get competitive with current units.


8 posted on 08/27/2007 1:33:00 PM PDT by TommyDale (Never forget the Republicans who voted for illegal immigrant amnesty in 2007!)
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To: LibWhacker
The incredible capacity achieved using this new technology is made possible by employing 200 5GB layers, each one only five microns apart.

Have you ever noticed that 1 second pause in the middle of watching a DVD movie? That is the laser changing layers on a dual layer disc.

I wonder how they overcome this problem; it seems there would be relatively jumpy playback with the laser switching layers every few seconds.

9 posted on 08/27/2007 1:36:20 PM PDT by GunRunner (Come on Fred, how long are you going to wait?)
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To: Freeport
Ouch! But with Murphy's Law, we could see dirt cheap 1TB disks and recorders within four years.

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus

10 posted on 08/27/2007 1:37:03 PM PDT by goldstategop (In Memory Of A Dearly Beloved Friend Who Lives In My Heart Forever)
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To: LibWhacker
Wow!!!

Wait, its from Israel . . .

Oy!!!

Still waiting on the next big advancement in technology from the Muslim world, wrinkle free burkas ...

11 posted on 08/27/2007 1:37:11 PM PDT by Mr. Jazzy (Very Proud Dad of LCpl Smoothguy242 USMC of 1/3 Marines, now fighting for freedom, on duty in Iraq.)
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To: LibWhacker

Put 1 TB of your precious data on one disc. A single scratch will probably wipe out a couple of gigabytes of backup.


12 posted on 08/27/2007 1:37:19 PM PDT by CarrotAndStick (The articles posted by me needn't necessarily reflect my opinion.)
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To: LibWhacker
On a 1TB disc, you could store:

212 DVD-quality movies
250,000 MP3 files
1,000,000 large Word documents
1 install copy of Windows Vista 2012 (help files and service pack 1 require one extra disc each)

13 posted on 08/27/2007 1:37:24 PM PDT by KarlInOhio (May the heirs of Charles Martel and Jan Sobieski rise up again to defend Europe.)
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To: KarlInOhio

LOL!!!


14 posted on 08/27/2007 1:38:51 PM PDT by LibWhacker
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To: KarlInOhio

LOL


15 posted on 08/27/2007 1:39:10 PM PDT by bmwcyle (BOMB, BOMB, BOMB,.......BOMB, BOMB IRAN)
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To: GunRunner

That’s a problem that can easily be fixed, by employing buffer memory, especially for movies.


16 posted on 08/27/2007 1:39:19 PM PDT by CarrotAndStick (The articles posted by me needn't necessarily reflect my opinion.)
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To: LibWhacker
How to fit 1TB of data on one CD-sized disc

Apply more pressure.

17 posted on 08/27/2007 1:40:02 PM PDT by r9etb
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To: LibWhacker

“On a 1TB disc, you could store:”

Um, 1 terabyte of data? Or 1,000 GB? or 1,000,000 MB? Are the silly examples really necessary?


18 posted on 08/27/2007 1:41:03 PM PDT by -YYZ- (Strong like bull, smart like ox.)
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To: goldstategop

With Murphy’s Law, the disks would roll off the desk, and down the stairs. The recorders would either not plug into your outlet, or they would go up in smoke when you managed to plug them in.


19 posted on 08/27/2007 1:41:21 PM PDT by USFRIENDINVICTORIA
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To: KarlInOhio
1 install copy of Windows Vista...

Now that's funny!
(and probably close to the truth)

20 posted on 08/27/2007 1:41:21 PM PDT by jonno (Having an opinion is not the same as having the answer...)
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